Francie is a level-headed 13 year old. When her family's truck breaks down in Oregon wilderness it is her knowledge of survival skills that keeps her safe. Her father uses an old GPS to walk for help through the woods. He doesn't return in 5 days. Her mentally-unstable mother goes for help by backtracking their route to the highway.
This book demonstrates good wilderness survival skills, which would be handy for any person to know, such as leaving trail signs, building a lean-to shelter, and orienteering using a compass and drawing the route as she walks. Francie goes through emotional changes, but is able to refocus on her current needs by remembering things her Grandma would tell her, or by imagining her alter-ego "Fierce Francie" who can cope, or by observing the birds and animals around her to relax.
The book may be too internally focused for the age group. Francie spends a lot of time remembering past interactions with her mother, her deceased sister, a mentor/teacher. However, these memories a full of action, so it may not be a problem for young readers. ( )

Francie's father takes her and her mother down all ill-advised shortcut in the Oregon woods, and gets them throughout lost. When the car breaks down, he relies on their new GPS to orient himself and seek help. As his absence stretches on, Francie and her increasingly unstable mother fend for themselves, and then Francie is totally alone once her mother decides to leave for help as well. She is forced to contend with her feelings about and her relationship with her parents, her memories of her dead twin sister, thirst, hunger, and the elements.

Lots of survival tips in this one, and a really realistic and sympathetic portrayal of an average young girl alone and scared. Francie has nothing to do but sit around and think and remember, and slowly finding out her shattered family dynamics is heartbreaking. Her mother's mental illness is rearing its head, and her mother's abandonment (in a long line of other emotional abandonments) only makes it worse. Their reconciliation at the end is abrupt and doesn't feel earned - why does Francie forgive her? This detail is clearly a sign that her mother's serious mental health issue is still a danger. We never learn much about Francie's father, but her love and worry for him is clear, as is his tense relationship with his wife. It's frustrating but realistic that we never find out what happened to him, but Francie seems unaffected by it. Yes, she's probably in shock, and there's no proof he's dead, but she's not sad or worried at all anymore, which is strange.

In the end note Greenslade says she was inspired by stories of GPSs leading people astray, which is certainly terrifying, but it does feel little anachronistic to have the stand-alone device rather than one on a phone which readers would be more familiar with. ( )

When Francie and her parents head from British Columbia for a spring break hiking trip at the Grand Canyon, disaster befalls them when their truck breaks down on an old logging road in the middle of a big forest. At first, the prospect is exciting to the 13 year old girl, who loves her basic survival book from a garage sale. But after her dad hikes off to get help, and then her mom leaves and the days stretch on without rescue, Francie truly wonders if she can hang on on her own. For kids who liked Hatchet, this 239 page book is a great pick. grades 4-7 ( )